Love the idea of Rishabh Pant opening with Rohit Sharma: Sanjay Manjrekar on India's T20 World Cup team

Recent experiments at the top of the batting order have made picking a top 3 even more difficult in the Indian playing XI. As the discussion over India's T20 World Cup 2022 team goes on, Sanjay Manjrekar said that he feels excited about the prospects of Rishabh Pant opening with Rohit Sharma.

Since KL Rahul was struggling with injuries and fitness, the Indian team management tried the likes of Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav for the second opener's spot. As neither of them has been convincing enough as an opener, Rahul is likely to open with Rohit when the T20 World Cup begins in Australia in October.

In a chat with Sports18, Manjrekar was asked about his views on India's top three. With the likes of Suryakumar, Rohit, Rahul and Virat Kohli in the fray, the retired cricketer-turned-pundit admitted that it's an incredibly tough call.

“Not answering that. It’s a tough one, really tough because there are some serious contenders there. That’s why these matches before the T20 World Cup are so important. KL Rahul has to be part of the T20 team. So has to be Virat Kohli just because of the stage and the pressure that comes in. It’s going to be a tough one. We have seen Suryakumar Yadav bat in the top three, we have seen Rishabh Pant bat in the top three. These are all very exciting options, so let’s see how it goes,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.

Though Manjrekar said that he likes the idea of seeing Pant and Rohit open together, the trio of Kohli, Rahul and Surya have better prospects of doing so.

“I love that idea of Rishabh Pant opening with Rohit Sharma. So that is something I am excited about, the possibility is there. It’s such a difficult one. You have got Virat Kohli, you have got KL Rahul, you have got Suryakumar Yadav and I think these are the three serious contenders. I am stumped,” he said.